Of
Men and Monsters by William TennPaperback - 256 pages (18 January, 2001) Victor Gollancz
Science Fiction; ISBN: 0575072342
Review by John Berlyne
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The Gollancz SF Collector's Editions series has
steadily been reprinting classic science fiction for a few months now.
Between the covers of their smart and distinctive fold-over yellow wraps
we have seen some notable modern works reissued for a new generation of
readers. Joining the company of Sturgeon, Crowley, Octavia Butler and
other such luminaries we now have William Tenn's 1968 work (and only
full length novel) Of Men & Monsters.

This is a work of post-apocalyptic fiction written at a time of nuclear
neurosis but Tenn avoids the Planet of the Apes
self-annihilation scenario instead giving us something much better and
far cleverer. In Of Men & Monsters, the world has suffered a
terrible fate. Giant, technologically superior aliens have conquered
Earth and the human race has been reduced to nothing but vermin hiding
in the walls of the Monster's enormous habitats. Forced to forage for
food, Man has regressed back to his most basic prehistoric tribal form.
Territory is paramount and suspicion of strangers, i.e. humans belonging
to other tribes, is ever present. There is some clinging to old ways and
traditions, but these have become distorted as the underlying
reasons and meanings behind them become lost in the mists of tribal
folklore.

The novel opens with the focus on Eric, a young member of a tribe that
calls itself "Mankind". He is about to become an adult and
must undergo rites of passage in a ceremony which involves venturing out
alone into Monster territory and stealing some item from them which the
tribe can utilize. "Mankind" revere the old ways and the
ceremony involves catechisms that talk of ridding the planet of the
Monsters "...by regaining the science and knowledge of our
forefathers. Man was once the Lord of all Creation: his science and
knowhow made him supreme. Science and knowhow is what we need to hit
back at the Monsters."

As he is about to begin his perilous undertaking, Eric learns that his
uncle, who is also his sponsor, has all along been a secret supporter of
a very different philosophy. One taboo, indeed heretical
throughout "Mankind". There are those who subscribe to the
thinking that Ancestor-Science failed to repel the Monsters when they
first came and therefore to seek the old knowhow is a pointless
practice. Far better to try and gain knowledge of Alien-Science and then
to turn it against the Monsters. Eric is appalled by this news but he is
persuaded by the argument.

He goes out into Monster territory to prove himself and whilst there he
rendezvous with some more Alien-Science-Radicals. On his return to the
burrows though he finds an insurrection led by his uncle has failed
miserably and that he is now an outcast. What follows is Eric's journey
from boy to man, from follower to leader and ultimately from captivity
to deliverance.

This is a highly entertaining story but also a well observed and
beautifully written allegory. Tenn infuses the story with an upbeat and
ultimately hopeful notion that whatever the circumstances, Man can
triumph. His ending though wryly adds to this in a wonderfully satirical
way, suggesting that this triumph may not always follow the most obvious
course.